Hello there!

I have been absent for awhile...but I am back and so glad Spring is here!

Lately making new jewelry has been on the back burner with the exception of a few custom orders. I got a request from Lori to make a guitar pick for her little brother's 16th birthday. I have wanted to make guitar picks for awhile now, but there are so many all over Etsy now and didn't really want to do what everyone else was doing...but this was the perfect opportunity to try it out.  Her request was simple, a Sterling Silver guitar pick with his three initials on it... Lori loves mixed metals (as do I) so we came up with the idea of stamping the initals on a brass plate.

I really love the way it turned out (and so did Lori...Yay!) and I think I put my own spin on the pick with the brass plate and it sets it apart a little from the other picks out there. I have a listing in my shop now for this pick and of course it can be customized. It makes a great gift!

We have gotten a lot of rain here lately, but it has been a gorgeous weekend. So yesterday while I should have been inside making some new pieces...I just could not stay indoors. Here are a few pictures from my morning walk on the Big Creek Greenway Trail...it was just perfect out.

Everytime I walk on this trail I see deer crossing the path in front of me or see them in the woods. I was glad I brought my camera along this time...and saw one on the side of the trail...she was just sitting there looking so peaceful!

and I saw this spot and thought it would be a great place to take a self-portrait for my Flickr Group (52 self portraits in 2011)....so there I am...just sipping on a little sunshine.

It is another gorgeous day out but today I have work to do. I have a custom order that needs to get out by tomorrow morning and I am hoping to make a few new pieces too. I am crossing my fingers that it will be a productive day!

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Long weekend...

I was off of work Friday so I had a nice long weekend. Saturday I went down to the river and was hoping to get a bunch of cool shots of the sunset.

The last time Kelley and I went down to the river I couldn't find the trail to hike back up the hill because all of the fallen leaves had covered the trail...so I put a ribbon on a tree so I could find my way back up the trail...

especially since it was going to be dark when I left

*are you laughing at me Kel?* :)

But there was no need for the ribbon...I quickly discovered I was on the wrong side of the river to get any type of good sunset shot. LOL. So...with a little time left I hiked back up the hill and drove down the street to a park along the river and just took a few shots while I watched the sun go down.

Today I made one of my 'explore' rings for Abby in a different size (tiny!)...

and I got my 'time flys' ring ready to ship out. My Aunt Diane bought it and I am kind of sad to see it go, but I am happy that she is going to be the one to wear it.

and it was a pretty cold day today (for Atlanta) and it is supposed to snow tonight so I was in the soup mood...and tried a new recipe for Macaroni & Cheese Soup! I got the recipe from the Food Network Magazine. It was supposed to be a 'lightened' up version of Macaroni & Cheese...I don't know how 'light' it was, but it was really good and I will definitely be making it again!!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and hope a great week is ahead for all of us!

A dog's life...

So last night I had finished up some work at my bench and sat down for a few minutes to relax and found myself to be the sole attendee of 'Friday Night Fights'...

Penny vs. Oscar

I love animals. No matter what is going on in life, they are oblivious to it all and their sole purpose in life is to eat, love...and make us laugh.

Aww....

Look how scary I can look Penny!

 Wait! I was just kidding!

This one is my favorite...legs up in the air...they look like they have had one too many drinks and are having a grand ol' time!!

They look so angry here!!  

and in the end...still the best of buds. :)



I'm here!

Work has been crazy lately and at the end of the day after I do my normal rituals of cleaning and getting ready for the next day, I really haven't been able to make jewelry. I am also out of Silver sheet...that kind of throws a wrench into things. So today when I came home from work I felt a little down, but my spirits were quickly lifted when I checked the mail. I love getting mail...I know that is a little weird, but whether it be catalogs, magazines or an Etsy purchase...any little thing received with my name on it (with the exception of bills) is always a treat. I was delighted to see that my new camera strap had arrived from Phat Straps...it has this crazy soft 'minky' lining that makes it so comfy to wear....

which is perfect timing because Thursday night I am driving down to

 Pensacola, Florida Thursday night right after work for the weekend to see DeLuna Fest and I plan of taking a lot of pictures! I liked my old strap, but this strap is long enough to hang like a messenger bag so it is so easy to wear and makes the camera easily accessible when you want to take a quick shot.

I also got this great mouse pad from Mod4Arts to replace the old cruddy one I had at work..it is the little things that make your day a little brighter right? :)

So I hope you all have a great week and a great weekend! Hopefully I will have some great shots to share with you when I get back!

A rainy Sunday

No hike down to the river today, it has been a rainy day and I have spent

the day here...at my bench. I love rainy days...such a great excuse to spend the entire day working on jewelry without feeling guilty!

I did get a lot done today so far (including breaking at least 3 saw blades), but nothing is done yet...I still need to sand a few things, throw everything in the tumbler, set stones and add a few final touches.

and this is me... :)

Penny kept popping up...letting me know it was time to take a break!

Meanwhile downstairs, Tracy {my roomie} was roasting some veggies and trying out an Ina Garten recipe....Butternut Squash Soup.

It turned out so good. The combination of roasted squash, apples, onions and curry sounded a little off, but it really was a wonderful blend of flavors...perfect for Fall.

Time to get back to work....hope you all had a great weekend!

Is it Friday yet?

I should be at my bench right now working on some new pieces but I can't do it...I am just beat. It is only Wednesday, but the week is really dragging and all I want to do is relax, get caught up on my favorite blogs, do some reading and go to bed! I am really looking forward to the weekend so I wanted to share some pictures of this past weekend (I meant to do this Sunday...oops). One of my favorite things to do on a nice day is hike down to the Chattahooche river and just hang out for a bit.

It is an easy hike down a steep hill to the river...

There are always people on the trails, people fishing and kayaking....

my roommate and I always find our rock, take off our shoes, stick our toes in the water and just chill...

...and this is our friend Charlie that is always there fishing for Trout. Ok, so we really don't know his name, we just yell out to eachother across from the river while we are there...but I want his name to be something fun like Charlie so that is what we call him. :) He was teaching his niece to fish that day...and she is lucky to have such a great teacher because he always catches the most fish!



We met some other friends there too...

and I love the picture below...so cute!! 

and then it was time to hike back up to the real world...

and we never take these stairs, but I love the way they look like they are just stairs to nowhere!

Hopefully this week will start moving along a little quicker...I know we all look forward to the weekend.

Hope everyone's week is going well so far! Come on Friday!!